“Puckett… he’s… they cut out his tongue,” she stutters.
We all go white.
“His what?” Abel whispers.
“Did you all kill him?!” she shrieks. “So much blood! You aren’t those monsters, are you? Please, don’t be monsters. You’re good. You’re mine.” She shakes, looking at each of us with wild eyes. “I know you. I know all of you. It’s not you; that’s not you.”
“No, Princess. We didn’t do anything like that. We were at… out working. We didn’t hurt anyone today. I swear it.” I hold her close, looking at Abel and Jaxx. “You all want to go find out what’s going on?”
“There’s so much blood, too much.” She shakes her head, looking into my eyes. “I thought I could- I was wrong.”
“It’s okay, baby. We will take care of it. Costin, you have her?”
“Of course I do. Go. Call Andrew. He needs to get back here.”
“I’ll be back, baby. Do you need anything?”
“Just hurry back, Jaxx. He was right; it’s not safe here. Not safe.”
Fuck, I think she’s in shock.
“Okay, baby.” He leans over and kisses her temple as I continue to hold her. “Rest, okay? You are safe. We will always put you first.” Jaxx turns to leave, but Abel kneels beside the bed.
“Your sword, Princess. Sometimes, battle gets bloody, but remember what you are here for and who he was. Whatever you saw down there, it has no power over you. You’ve beaten worse.”
Her eyes lift to his in understanding, and she touches his cheek, whispering, “Thank you.”
He stands with a nod and places a kiss on her cheek before following Jaxx from the room. Whatever he meant with that weird shit, it seems to have gotten through to her.
“Costin?” She whimpers.
“Yes, Princess?” I rub up and down her bare back soothingly, feeling her trembling slow, but not stop.
“Don’t let go yet, okay? Stay?” She clings to my shirt, breathing me in. Like I would ever willingly leave her.
“Always.” I squeeze her tightly.
“Costin?” As she pulls back slightly, her hair falls, curtaining her face, but I can still see her wide eyes peeking up at me, lashes batting in mock innocence.
“Yes, Princess?” I know that look. She is going to ask me for something… and she knows she will get it. Anything. Always.
“I just realized I’m pretty close to naked.” She blushes, smiling mischievously. Rotten girl is playing with fire.
“Yes, Princess. You are,” I rasp out.
“Is that a bad thing?” she wiggles, grinding her ass into my already hard cock.
“Depends on your definition of bad, Princess.” Please, let it be the same as mine. If there is a God, let it be dirty.
“Brave Knight?”
“Yes, Princess.” I chuckle huskily. Hot. Mess. She is still a hot mess, and she still has me wrapped around her finger, especially when playing this angle.
“Make me forget. Give me something good.” She turns, straddling my lap, and kisses me. I growl when she lets her towel drop open slightly, exposing her from the waist down. “I have heard all about what you can do. Make me feel good this time?”
“Are you sure, Princess?”
“With you? Always,” she whispers in my ear, biting gently.
I flip her to her back and lay my body on top of hers, deepening the kiss. When she reaches for my belt, I still her hand.
“I am not fucking you right now, Princess. I will not rush with you, and they will be back soon.” She whimpers. “But there is plenty of time to make you feel good.” I grin, kissing her.
I push her thighs apart, making sure her towel still covers her upper half, and lower myself to the floor, yanking her ass to the edge of the bed. “Get ready because you are going to cum hard and fast, Princess.” I bury my face in her pussy, breathing her in deeply with a moan, and devour her. Pulling out my cock, I pump into my hand as I eat her, imagining it’s my dick that’s making her squirm instead of my tongue. I lick her relentlessly, focusing on her clit, and right when she begins to beg, I push in two fingers, curling into her g-spot, and she explodes.
“Costin!” she screams my name in a way I have only dreamt of, and I blow my load all over my hand.
Sitting up, she is breathing heavily and looks down at my cum covered hand and cock.
“I would have done that for you, ya know?” she purrs. Well, I really like this new side of her. She gets down on the floor beside me and leans over, her bare ass on display. She licks the cum from my fingers and moves over, cleaning my cock the same way.
“Oh, fuck,” I moan out, right as the door swings open, and a very pissed off Jaxx walks in. “Damn it.”
“Jaxx, I’m-” She quickly stands, eyes wide.
“It’s okay, baby. Go get dressed. We’re going shopping.” Jaxx motions to the bathroom, and she nods, scurrying away. Once the door is closed, he spins on me.
“What the fuck? I was gone for twenty minutes, and you had her on her knees, licking your cock?!”
“Man, that was all her.” I grin, tucking myself away.
“The fuck it was. She isn’t-“
“Oh, she is.” I nod, knowing I shouldn’t but unable to stop smiling. My Princess is a dirty girl. “She asked me to give her something good to make her forget what happened.”
“You couldn’t just get her some cake?” Jaxx hisses.
“I had pie.” I chuckle, and he socks me in the jaw. “Fuck! Look, I’m sorry. I couldn’t turn her down. I have waited my entire life to be with her, Jaxx, and she wanted me. I can’t be sorry.”
“Well, Costin, it can’t happen again. What if I had been Andrew? She is engaged to me. If he had seen that… it would ruin everything.”
I sober at the thought. “Yeah, man. I just didn’t-“
“Think. You didn’t think. You have to start. Puckett was killed, brutally. Someone cut out his tongue. She saw some fucked up shit, and her prints are all over it. We have called in a crew, but I want her out of the house for it. She tracked blood all the way to the main floor.”
“Fuck, that much?”
“The worst I have seen since Bethany-” he hisses, “-and you need to prepare for a possible fallout with her. You both acted impulsively.”
“But Jonah,” I growl.
“Doesn’t live with her… he isn’t her family. He was a fling. You mean more. Whether you realize it or not, you just added a complicated layer to your relationship right after Joshua. Tread carefully, brother.” He walks to the bathroom, knocking lightly and going in, closing the door behind him.
Well, fuck…
Eliana
Standing at the sink, I stare at my reflection through my tears. What have I done?
“I’m so sorry, Joshua. I don’t know what I was thinking. I was just so-” I sob, wrapping my hand around the tiny urn. “I’m garbage. I did those things with you literally laying against my heart.”
I turn on the water, filling my hands and splashing my face in an attempt to hide my torment, then begin brushing my teeth. One of them will surely come to check on me any minute. I look down at my necklace, pieces of time, of love. Pieces that I have now betrayed. I didn’t feel this guilt with Jonah. I knew Joshua wouldn’t like it, but he would understand my need to feel. With Costin, he would never understand. There is no justifying it; I may as well have spit on everything we ever had. I’ve betrayed the man I love with the only man he was ever threatened by. The one man I swore I would never be with because I love Joshua that much. My thoughts are interrupted by a knock, and Jaxx immediately walks in.